


Now You See Me

by Alexandra2604



Category: SKAM (France)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Eliott is a Ravenclaw, Lucas is a Slytherin, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-11 20:23:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18431441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexandra2604/pseuds/Alexandra2604
Summary: Lucas has a lot of secrets from his friends. He likes boys, his Mum is at St.Mungo's, and his Father is a dick. Starting his sixth year at Hogwarts, Lucas hopes that things are going to get better.Unfortunately for him, the universe has other plans.The new guy at school makes his friends go crazy, Arthur gets an ominous prediction, some fifteen-year-old starts following him around and on top of that, in a fight for everything he holds dear he has to face his biggest enemy — himself.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! First of all, this work is gonna be pretty long, and since I have my finals this year I don't promise frequent updates, sorry about that :( Though I'll try as hard as possible to keep it regular I like long chapters and it's not gonna be easy, but bear with me. Guess it's all for now, hope you'll enjoy!

The platform met him with its usual hustle and bustle. The closer to the train, the thicker the motley crowd was getting. Everywhere he looked, Lucas saw either loud and excited first years with visibly anxious parents or seven years indulgently smirking at them. Lucas scowled when some awkward kid accidentally hit him with an elbow but stubbornly kept pushing through the crowd to get into the Hogwarts Express. His friends were surely waiting for him now, Lucas had a tendency to be late to every fucking meeting they’d planned and he hated it.

He kept glancing at his baggage to make sure the cage with his owl didn’t fall; he probably should’ve fastened it better but between the heated argument with his Father and embarrassingly teary parting with his Mum he just didn’t have time to think about such things. Lucas cursed under his breath when his shoulder suddenly collided with something solid, someone’s body probably, and the cage dangerously tilted backwards on top of his bag. He barely managed to catch it and almost turned to glare at the clumsy person that almost cost him his owl.

“Lucas! Here you are!” Arthur’s voice cut through the noise of the platform, and the next second Lucas was surrounded by his friends. They helped him carry the baggage, and five minutes later they were already sitting in the compartment.

“You know,” Yann started, eyeing Lucas tentatively, “we almost thought the train would leave without you. Why are you so late?” Arthur and Basile were watching him more openly, obviously waiting for an answer.

Lucas sighed. He wasn’t in the mood for group heart-to-hearts.

“It’s nothing, woke up later than I should’ve,” he lied, shrugging. The train set off and he turned to the window, watching the platform disappearing from the view.

Lucas was sad, for some reason. Or not sad, just... Discontented. His friends started their usual bantering on the background, but he couldn't bring himself to participate in any kind of conversation. Something felt... off. Like he was missing an important detail and couldn't remember what it actually was.

Weird.

He brushed the strange sensation off but kept staring at the window, tuning out the lively chat flowing so smooth even without him involved. Maybe he was a little distant with his friends recently. Lucas sighed. Last year was really horrible because he tended to do things he would never do in normal circumstances. He winced, remembering everything that happened to Emma because of him, and quickly glanced at Yann. He still felt a pang of guilt every time he was looking at his best friend.

Lucas was a terrible best friend to him, apparently.

On top of that mess were also his parents' divorce, his Mum's worsened condition and OWLs. Marvellous.

Lucas shook his head. This year was going to be better. He had to believe in it.

 

* * *

 

 

The usual ride to Hogsmeade seemed longer this time but maybe the reason was that Lucas didn't really want to come back to school. Hogwarts had always felt like second home to him, but ever since his Mum got diagnosed and his Father got one more thing to be a dick about everything went downhill from there. He lost the little to no connection he had to his actual home, and the same thing happening with Hogwarts seemed like a logical conclusion. He even kind of lost touch with his friends over the summer, only answering Yann's letters so he wouldn't pester Lucas about it.

As soon as they arrived at the platform and got out of the train, Lucas felt this again. The strange nagging on the back of his head. It was very uncomfortable but before he could think about it properly he was swept away by his friends to the festral carriages. Lucas was halfway into the first unoccupied carriage they found when Arthur looked over at the crowd and squinted.

"Guys, guys, look," he said, weirdly excited, nodding in the direction of Hagrid, probably at someone Lucas couldn't see from the carriage ladder. "Guess we have a newbie."

Lucas rolled his eyes and climbed into the carriage. He wasn't curious about some new kid even though it was very rare for Hogwarts to accept transfer students. He sat alone for a good half a minute and then the boys followed him.

"What? Why do you think he's a criminal?" asked Yann incredulously, taking the seat next to him.  Lucas raised his eyebrow. What were they talking about?

Basile gasped in response, "I'm telling you, he's _totally_ a criminal. He probably killed someone at his old school, that's why he had to transfer!"

Lucas rolled his eyes again and turned to Arthur who was always reliable in providing facts, "What is it all about?"

"About the new guy. Haven't you seen him? I was literally pointing at him Lucas, you could've paid attention once in your life." Arthur sighed, then leaned closer and continued, "Well, there's this guy, probably a seventh year, super mysterious, and we were just wondering what is he doing here.”

Lucas sighed, “Yeah, because it’s so interesting.”

Arthur just flipped him off. “You just haven’t seen him. He’s _intriguing_ ,” his eyes glinted with curiosity and Lucas squinted. Why was he so obsessed with this guy, anyway? Arthur noticed his suspicion and rolled his eyes. “Merlin, why are you staring at me? Finally, something’s exciting happening around here!” Lucas shook his head and dropped the subject entirely. Maybe if they stopped talking about this new boy, Arthur would finally calm down and forget about it. 

As it turned out, he was fucking wrong. 

 

* * *

 

When they got to the castle, Lucas went straight to the dungeons, barely even waving his friends goodbye. He was so tired for some reason, and the prospect of sitting all dinner in the company of his housemates, as usual, oversharing about their summer, had almost made him sick. 

He threw the doubts out the window and got in bed. He could do without a feast tonight. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was asleep. 

He would very much rather stay asleep forever, though, as the next morning ended up being a disaster. He was late for breakfast, almost lost his schedule _twice_ , forgot his tie and nearly got detention for coming to Transfiguration ten minutes after the bell rang. On top of that, when he finally found his friends in the Great Hall at lunch they pointedly ignored him until he apologized for missing the dinner without any warning. 

He settled down on the bench next to Arthur at the Ravenclaw table. They didn’t usually sit there because Arthur considered the majority of his housemates arrogant assholes and honestly, his housemates didn’t really like him back. Lucas thought the main reason was that Yann was a Gryffindor, Lucas was a Slytherin, and Basile was a Hufflepuff. When sometimes they sat at the Slytherin table they also always ended up being stared at, though most students were used to that after five years of their friendship. Also, they weren’t the only ones who did that, there were lots of mixed groups of friends from different houses around the Great Hall. 

So Arthur was right, probably, and his housemates were just being their arrogant asshole selves. 

“We’ll have to wait till the dinner to see him, that’s so _unfair_!” Arthur exclaimed. “Damn Jackson and his stupid wand!”

Lucas was already eating but he stopped the second Arthur’s words sank in. “Wait, what did Jackson do?” He didn’t add  _again_  but everyone knew he meant it. 

Arthur turned to him, food forgotten, and said, highly annoyed, “He cursed himself! Had to go to Mungo, damn him, and now I’m a prefect in our year!”

Lucas narrowed his eyes at his tone, without a clue what had gotten Arthur in such a pissy mood, “Congratulations, I guess?”

“ _Congratulations?_  Why? The only time I would  _love_  to live in the dorms I get the prefect’s room. I’m  _so_  unlucky, can you fucking believe it?” He rubbed his forehead and rolled his eyes for a good measure, but Lucas still didn’t understand what was going on. 

“Why would you love to live in dorms, what are you talking about? You dreamt about becoming a prefect.”

“Because,” Arthur sighed as if this was the dumbest question he’d heard in his life, “Eliott Demaury is Ravenclaw.”

“Who’s Eliott Demaury?” 

This got him three incredulous looks back. What’s gotten into his friends today? 

“That’s what you get for missing the dinner, Lucas,” Basile smiled widely, “Arthur’s new man crush is in his house, but he won’t see him because he, himself, is going to live in prefects’ room.”

Lucas raised his eyebrow. Really? That’s all because of this new guy? Who was he, with all this Harry Potter level of popularity? “And this is a problem because?" he asked taking a sip of the pumpkin juice and wincing at the taste. He hated pumpkins. 

"Lucas! This is so obvious, I don't understand how you'd gotten into Slytherin sometimes with this _Hufflepuff  _levelof intelligence," Arthur said, annoyed for no reason, and Basile yelped in protest. 

"Do you mean all Hufflepuffs are dumb? What the–" 

"Doesn't matter," Arthur brushed him off dismissively and Lucas silently rolled his eyes at his overly dramatic behaviour. "What I meant is that I won't get a chance to talk to him, that's also part of the reason we've been sitting here for nearly an hour and  _still_ I haven't even seen him up close."

Lucas almost choked on his toast at this. 

"Wait, correct me if I'm wrong," he started, staring at his friends in confusion. "Are you saying you're only here to what, talk to him? Watch him?" 

Arthur shrugged with one shoulder and continued looking around probably to spot this poor Eliott guy.

"That's so fucking creepy, guys, what the fuck?" Lucas hissed, leaning closer. "What do you want to achieve? If he finds out I bet he'll be running in another direction every time he sees you."

That got their attention, and Arthur narrowed his eyes, a smirk slowly forming on his face. "What do you have in mind, smart-ass?" 

Lucas sighed. He in no way wanted to participate in such kind of activities but maybe at least he could make sure his friends wouldn't seem like creepy stalkers (which they surprisingly were).

"Just don't follow him around. As soon as you stop looking for an opportunity to talk to him, you'll get one. That's how the universe works. But don't miss your chance once you get it."

Yann grinned at him proudly across the table and Lucas smiled back. Basile was only partly paying attention to his words, but Arthur seemed to be actually considering them. "Okay," he finally nodded and eyed Lucas as if he'd just seen him for the first time. "That's good advice, thanks, Lulu."

Lucas rolled his eyes. This was his chance to let this topic of the conversation go for now. 

"Why are you so obsessed with this guy anyway?" he asked unexpectedly, surprising himself. Arthur considered him from the corner of his eye before speaking again. 

”Okay, I’ll tell you guys but don’t interrupt me,” he warned them before getting into the story.

”Alright. So one week ago I went to the Diagon Alley to buy school stuff and don't ask me why but somehow I ended up in the Knockturn Alley. There was an old woman, a fortune-teller, and I asked her about this school year. You know, exams and all. Well, she told me not quite what I expected to hear. She said, and I quote, ‘Funny you asked, boy because this year the blood will spill in Hogwarts for the first time after the War. Some murders. Don’t worry about your friends though, they’ll be fine but I’d suggest the Snake be careful with new acquaintances.’ That’s why I’m so looking forward to this year!” he looked at each one of them with the same almost manic gleam in his eyes. 

They were silent for a second, and then Yann and Basile simultaneously spoke. 

“Are you looking forward to  _murders?_ ” gasped Yann. 

“ _Dude, it’s awesome!_ ” exclaimed Basile. Lucas just stared at them, unimpressed. He had to admit, Arthur’s story sent chills down his spine, but to believe it was true was ridiculous. He didn’t even understand why Divination was still a subject at Hogwarts when it was clearly just a waste of time. 

“But who’s that Snake?” asked Basile a moment later. Arthur sent him a glance that perfectly reflected his opinion on every word that came out of Basile’s mouth and sighed. 

“Obviously it’s Lucas.”

”No,” Lucas said, getting up to go to his classes. “Obviously it’s bullshit.”

He glanced at them one last time and went to Potions, leaving his friends gaping in his wake. 

 

* * *

 

 

Days flew by, and Lucas could hardly believe that school started almost two weeks ago. It was the second Friday evening he spent in the library buried in ancient books. He was trying to fit one of them into his bag to study later when someone loudly cleared their throat right next to him. He flinched but only slightly and spun around to tell this someone off. 

 

He quickly regretted his decision. It was a girl, dark-haired and small, a Slytherin just like him. She smiled in what meant to be flirty way, but it came out a bit strained. She was obviously nervous. Lucas studied her face again and realised that he remembered her. Last year she was desperately trying to get his attention but she’d never straight-up approached him and he wasn’t sure if he had seen her this year at all. 

 

“Hi!” she chirped earnestly and extended her hand. Lucas eyed it suspiciously and gave it a shake. 

 

“Hi,” his unenthusiastic voice was a striking contrast to her own, bright and cheerful. He paused, looking at her and waiting until her smile slipped from her lips and she said, clearly uncomfortable, "Chloe."

 

"Hi Chloe," he repeated with a polite and empty smile of his own.

 

He didn’t understand how that happened, but a few minutes later they were strolling the passages leading to the Great Hall. It was almost dinner time, so he needed to hurry because Arthur with his new obsession had totally made Yann and Basile be there early. However, Chloe kept chatting about this and that and he was growing tired of her. Suddenly, in one of the least lit up with candles corridor, she stopped and made Lucas stop too, taking his hands in hers. 

 

All he could do was staring in horror. 

 

“Lucas,” she announced, her voice loud in complete silence of the hallway. “I’ve wanted to say it since last year, but I never got a chance. I love you.”

 

Her gaze was dreamy like she wasn’t fully present in the moment and Lucas panicked. Shit, this was so, so bad. He murmured, “Thanks?”

Chloe smiled widely as if he said something funny and leaned in and Lucas’s mind short-circuited. He finally was able to move, though, so he evaded her lips and the kiss landed somewhere near his ear. He needed to get out of here. 

Lucas said sorry in a rush and tore his hands from Chloe's deadly grip to storm off down the hallway. He didn't know where he was heading and his mind didn't supply him with any useful information so as soon as his panic evaporated he started to slow down his pace. He ended up in what looked like a corridor abandoned years ago. There were no portraits on the walls, but one large window on the left from Lucas. He stepped closer and leaned into the frame to take a look and figure out in which part of the castle he was. As far as he could see there was only the forest that looked suspiciously like a jungle, and the pouring rain didn't let him make out anything else. Lucas let out a resigned sigh. The window was definitely magical which meant he was stuck Merlin knows where. He felt nauseous when he thought about all the hidden parts of Hogwarts he'd never given much thought to while other kids (especially those who adored Harry Potter) happily discovered every secret passageway they could find. Life was unfair, really.

He sighed again and turned around, stepping back from the window to walk in the same direction he came from when suddenly his body hit another one. The collision was rough but Lucas stayed on feet, taking a step back to glare at the guy who had bumped into him.

"Sorry," he heard a pleasant voice before he raised his eyes, "I didn't see you."

"I felt that, yes," Lucas answered and finally looked at him.

The candlelight really suited him, that was the first thing he noticed. His messy brown hair reflected the light and Lucas stared at it, mesmerized for a moment.

Then he took in his face and forgot how to breathe.

They were still too close, closer than you usually stood with strangers, and Lucas was equally hit with both his proximity and his stunning eyes. His piercing gaze lingered on Lucas for a few long seconds.

He shivered. He wanted to keep these eyes on himself forever. 

Then the guy moved away and the moment was gone. Lucas shook his head to clear it. The stranger walked past him but before rounding the corner and disappearing in the darkness, he turned around and said, "Sorry again".

And just like that, with one last parting look, he was gone.

Lucas' mind barely registered his way back to the dungeons. He wasn't even sure how he'd gotten out of that corridor, his mind was too busy replaying memories of golden tint on the face of the boy he'd never met before. Come to think of it, Lucas was almost totally convinced the stranger was really someone he’d never ever seen. He doubted that he could forget a face like this.

Only at the door to the Slytherin common room, the realization hit him.

That was probably the infamous Eliott Demaury. Lucas wanted to slap himself for not understanding this sooner because it was obvious.

If that really was Eliott though he could perfectly understand Arthur and his frankly unhealthy obsession with this boy. Anyway, attractive appearance aside, Lucas had better things to do than stalking some new student. 

With that, he shook his head and decided to just forget it.

 

* * *

 

However, his mind apparently had other plans, and the following weekend Lucas spent in the endless passageways of Hogwarts trying to at least catch a glimpse of the messy brown hair. It was a torture and even more so because Lucas couldn't wrap his head around the reason he was chasing Eliott so urgently, so desperately.

What was worse, he was completely alone in his lack of luck.

"You won't believe it!" Arthur yelled at them on a Monday morning, pushing sleepy students out of his way to get to the Gryffindor table where they sat pretty often. He got to the table and collapsed on the bench, startling Basile who'd been fully engrossed in devouring his breakfast. Lucas exchanged a wary look with Yann, instantly thinking of the only thing that could affect Arthur this much. Well, the only person.

"You. Won't. Believe it! Guys," he straightened his back, and his eyes were practically glowing with delight. Lucas glanced at Yann again. Fuck, that was bad. 

Whatever Arthur was about to say, Lucas already knew he wouldn't like it. 

"Spill it," he said grimly in anticipation of impending doom.

"I've just talked to Manon, she said Daphne has this idea of decorating the Great Hall for the Halloween and that she needs a hand," he could barely contain his excitement but Yann, Lucas and Basile looked at him in bewilderment (though as soon as Arthur dropped Daphne's name Lucas knew he had Basile on the hook)."But more importantly–"

He suddenly fell quiet for more dramatic effect before finishing, "Eliott has already agreed to help her!" Arthur was examining them expecting some kind of reaction but Lucas was denying the only possible explanation of his annoyingly good mood.

"Come on, guys, we're gonna help them!" Arthur exclaimed a few seconds later confirming his suspicions. "I already told Daphne we're in so don't even try to back off. This is perfect, Lulu, you are brilliant! Your advice really helped!"

He leaned forward and ruffled Lucas's hair. 

That was an awful plan. Daphne’s idea wasn’t the worst she’d ever had, but to take part in something with his friends and Eliott together was the last thing Lucas wanted. While Yann was cool, Arthur and Basile were so, so weird that if any of them ended up embarrassing him before Eliott he wouldn’t be surprised at all. 

Besides, something inside him wanted to keep Eliott all to himself, to be the first to know him. Lucas didn’t have any damn idea why though. 

Well, he had one. But that one was far too scary to admit. 

“Wait,” Lucas said suddenly, interrupting Yann who was trying to prove Arthur that he was too busy with being a captain for Gryffindor quidditch team. “But it’s only September, are we going to start preparing for Halloween now?”

”No, we’re starting in October. Daphne just wants to meet this weekend to discuss what exactly we’re going to do with this all,” he pointedly looked around the Great Hall. “You know, she wanted to spread the news today and ask other students for help but as I already offered us Manon said they won’t do that. So it’s only us, girls, and Eliott.”

He wiggled his eyebrows, smirking victoriously. 

Lucas was fucked. 

 

* * *

 

After the dinner, he made a quick escape to the library to avoid extremely smug and overly excited Arthur. It felt wrong to hear him talk about Eliott so much when Lucas hadn’t said a word about their encounter last Friday. Maybe he should’ve told them. Although the prospect of being interrogated by Arthur wasn’t appealing.

He spent more than an hour writing a hideous essay for his Potions class and then decided to call it a day. Part of him was still trying to fathom the fact that this weekend he was going to officially meet Eliott. That was a lot to take.

Lucas was on his way back to the dungeons, in the entrance hall next to the Great Hall, when he heard a high-pitched and dreadfully familiar voice and the sound of footsteps. Right at that moment, two girls came around the corner and it took him a millisecond to recognize Chloe in one of them. He quickly looked around and bolted to the closest door in a panic, he was really not in the mood for talking with that girl. Every time she’d seen Lucas since her sudden confession she winked and smiled at him so he tried as hard as possible to stay out of her way. The whole situation made him impossibly uncomfortable.

Only a moment later he realised that he walked through the entrance door.

He leaned on it heavily to catch his slightly uneven breath and calm down his nerves. There was a soft rustling beside him and suddenly (and unexpectedly close) somebody spoke.

“Who are you running from?” a low voice, almost a whisper, asked and Lucas jerked back, moving farther from the source of the sound. "Angry ex?"

It was so dark on the porch, with the only dying torch hanging illogically far from the door, that when he tried to examine his partner in crime of breaking the curfew, at first he could only see that he was way taller than Lucas. “Fuck, you scared me,” he exhaled, leaning on the door even more, and saw a burning dot which he supposed was a cigarette. What a rebel this guy was. 

Soft laughter broke the silence and the guy said, in full voice, “Sorry, that wasn’t intentional.”

_Fuck._ Lucas turned his head so fast that his neck snapped. _No way_. 

His eyes had already adjusted to the darkness so when he looked at his companion again he saw Eliott fucking Demaury. 

The universe either hated Lucas or really, really loved him. 

”What are you doing here?” he heard himself asking and Eliott shrugged. He was looking up, at the sky above them, and Lucas took this as an opportunity to stare. Eliott’s hair was still as messy as he remembered, his profile was oddly fascinating and he was wearing only a hoodie and jeans, no robes. 

Eliott shrugged again, blowing out a cloud of smoke up in the air and sending shivers up Lucas’s spine with it. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many stars in my life. Just look at them, they’re so beautiful,” he breathed out, still facing the sky. 

Lucas couldn’t take his eyes off of him. “Yeah, they are.”

A second passed, then two, and Lucas broke down under the weight of his curiosity. “Weren’t there any stars where you came from?” he was going for casual but somehow his genuine interest slipped into the question, and Eliott finally looked at him. Even in the dark, it was a bit hard not to waver under his intense gaze. 

“I guess at this point I shouldn’t be surprised you know about me,” he smiled with a corner of his mouth and took another drag of whatever he was smoking. For some reason, Lucas was hyper-aware of every single one of them. “The perks of being a new one. But to answer your question no, there aren’t many stars you can see in the city, you know.”

“It must be weird,” Lucas said, and Eliott raised his eyebrows. “That the whole school knows your name, I mean.”

Eliott hummed and shrugged, “A bit weird, yes, but it _was_ kinda announced before the whole school when I put this strange talking hat on me so it’s not a big shock.” Lucas smiled and almost opened his mouth to ask something else when Eliott added, “I know your name too, by the way.”

For a moment Lucas thought he misheard him, but Eliott was watching him closely, probably waiting for his reaction. When the words had finally sunk in, he narrowed his eyes trying his hardest to not let his emotions show. He cheeks were burning, though, and he was thankful that the darkness was hiding it. 

“Really?” he said in a voice slightly higher than usual, and Eliott smirked. 

“Yeah. You and your friends are helping me decorate the Great Hall, right?”

_Oh._

“Right,” Lucas replied feeling inexplicably disappointed. On the other hand, maybe it was for the best. He didn’t know how would he react if he knew that Eliott was asking around about him. 

“Can’t wait to meet your friends,” Eliott admitted, taking the last drag of his cigarette and putting it out, and Lucas snorted. Yeah, he was absolutely _not_ looking forward to it. Arthur was going to lose his shit once he saw Eliott which was as funny as it was embarrassing, thank you very much. 

” _What?_ ” Eliott laughed at his unimpressed face and turned his whole body to Lucas, leaning on the door next to him with his shoulder. “They look like fun.”

He raised his eyebrows at that, “I wonder if you have mistaken them with someone else because usually, they look like complete idiots.” That earned him another surprised laugh. Honestly, with Eliott this close it was hard to be his usual witty self so every time Lucas managed to make him laugh felt like a blessing. He lowered his head feeling the need to hide a smile that was tugging on the corners of his lips. 

Eliott said, “I’m serious!” with a smile in his voice at the same time Lucas blurted out, “Wait, how do you even know how my friends look like?” He lifted his gaze to Eliott who was studying him with an expression he couldn’t fathom and they stood like that in silence for an excruciatingly long second. Then Eliott glanced down and licked his lips _(very distractingly)_ before replying. 

“I’ve been watching you,” he bit his lip to contain his grin but Lucas saw it anyway. “For a while.” 

Lucas' throat went dry. He didn’t expect that at all. What could one possible answer to this?

”So,” he started, voice suddenly hoarse. “Should I be worried that you’re going to kill me and leave me to rot in the Forest?” The joke was lame, but the smile that lit up Eliott’s face was worth it. The asshole just shrugged though so maybe giving strangers these ideas wasn’t a wise thing to do. Lucas knew that he might’ve needed to worry about his life since he didn’t know Eliott at all but he couldn’t bring himself to care about it. He felt safe with Eliott. That was enough. 

The torch lit up in distance, probably at Hagrid’s hut, and it dawned on him that he had to get back to the dungeons a long time ago. “I have to go,” he sighed, turning to face the door, and Eliott nodded in response not even looking at him. Lucas itched with a need to get his attention one last time so he paused with a hand on the door handle to say, “But tell me, how many people exactly do you stalk?”

Eliott’s face broke into a dangerously knowing smirk and he looked Lucas up and down causing his breath to hitch. “Are you jealous?” he asked in a low voice and leaned a bit closer.

_Fuck_. This guy was such an asshole. Lucas was _so_ not ready for it, and so was his heart. He swallowed hard and his traitorous eyes fell onto Eliott’s lips and this damned smirk. 

He was saved by Eliott who took a step back still not letting go of his gaze and said, clearly enjoying himself, “Don’t worry, Lucas. You're the only one, I promise.” Lucas couldn’t believe his ears. He automatically turned the handle and slipped into the hallway allowing his body to take him to the dungeons while he was silently having a mental breakdown. 

Eliott Demaury was going to be the death of him. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thanks to everyone who read, liked and/or commented, it means soooo much to me! Hope you enjoy this chapter <3

Two days later, Lucas put his bag on the desk with a loud thud, startling Imane, and sank into the chair next to her.

It'd been a long, long two days.

Ever since he met Eliott the sudden need to constantly see him, to learn what kind of person he was settled somewhere deep inside of Lucas and he didn't know what to do with it. After they talked, it had only gotten worse. The gravitation pull of Eliott was unexpectedly strong. Though some part of Lucas wasn't really looking forward to seeing him again because he was still processing the 'don't worry, you're the only one, I promise'. And how could he not to? Those impossible words were spinning around in his head over and over again, Lucas doubted he would ever forget it. How could Eliott say such things so easily? It wasn't what you just casually dropped in a conversation. _He was flirting with you_ , his mind whispered every time Lucas thought about it (which was every fucking second, honestly, what the fuck?) and he had gone through the same circle of confusion-insight-denial for a thousand times since Monday night. It was probably unhealthy.

Imane coughed next to him, bringing him back to reality, and he shook his head. Potions required being fully focused on whatever you were brewing, so he put every Eliott-related thought aside and decided to pay attention to the subject.

Not that he could do this for long though.

"So," he started, carefully glancing at Imane in case she got pissed he interrupted her. "When are we meeting to plan the design?" He was aiming for casual but slightly missed the mark and his voice was too cheerful. Judging by the way Imane's head snapped up, she noticed that too.

"What? Are you interested in decorating the Hall now?" she asked, raising her eyebrows, amused. Lucas couldn't hold back a snort that escaped him. Of course, he was an underappreciated artist, yeah. People were so funny sometimes.

Imane, still waiting for an answer, narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She was so, _so_ good at reading people, but Lucas knew that she wouldn't press him even if she thought he was up to something.

"No, no," Lucas said hastily under her unyielding gaze, "I just think that's a good idea." She stared at him for a second longer and then rolled her eyes.

"Okay," she drawled, obviously not believing him, and then got back to her assignment. "The meeting is on Saturday, at five o'clock. Don't be late," she said at last, and after that, they worked in a companionable silence till the end of the class.

On his way to the Great Hall a few hours later he realized she never told him where they were going to meet.

 

* * *

 

The worst thing was, Lucas didn't tell his friends about Eliott. He was dreading the moment Arthur would find out about the time they first met, but now that they'd sort of had a more or less meaningful conversation Arthur was going to fucking eat him alive. He was a real gossip girl, and though Lucas was (mostly) convinced he didn't spread rumours, he was hungry for every bit of information about anyone he found interesting. Moreover, Arthur was good at figuring people out (too good, frankly speaking) and Lucas didn't want to find himself on the receiving end of his frustration, especially combined with his almost Auror level interrogation skills.

So Lucas had to avoid his friends. Because the temptation to spill his guts was very, _very very_ strong. Arthur's face would be priceless.

Now, though, he had information to pass, so at lunch, he found the boys on their usual place at the Gryffindor table. He crumpled on the bench next to already chewing Basile and the talk between Arthur and Yann suddenly died. Lucas squinted.

"Why the secrecy?" he inquired, looking at each and every one of them. As usual, Yann was the easiest to break. They were best friends, after all.

"Arthur is just being annoying," Yann explained and brushed Arthur off when he gaped at him, scandalized. "For some reason, he thinks you might hide something about his precious Eliott."

Basile raised his head from his plate and smirked at Yann, and Arthur groaned, hiding his face in his palms, "Stop it! He's not mine! It's just–" He quickly looked around and said in a lower voice, "Don't you want to know if the prediction is right? Because if it is, he might be a killer!"

"Seriously?" asked Lucas incredulously, putting a cup with the horrid pumpkin juice aside for a moment. "I can understand why Basile was assuming it, but you? And to actually believe in this prediction? It's ridiculous."

"Hey!" yelped Basile through a mouthful of food, offended.

Arthur ignored him. "It's not ridiculous at all! Listen, it makes _total_ sense," he exclaimed enthusiastically. "The murders will start this year, and he's just arrived here. We know nothing about him. Who is he? Why has he transferred? How does Imane know him? So many questions!"

"Wait. Imane knows him?" Lucas frowned. That was odd. Even odder was the fact that Arthur somehow managed to find it out before him. Lucas considered Imane a friend, why didn't she tell him?

_Because that's none of your business_ , told him the rational part of his brain. Which was objectively fair. _Objectively_.

"Well, every time I ask her she's telling me to fuck off, but I guess she does since sometimes she hangs out with him quite often," Arthur said.

Lucas raised his eyebrows, taken aback, "So you're stalking Imane now, too?" There was a pause, and then the silence exploded with laughter. Arthur smiled widely when the giggles stopped and answered with amusement clear in his voice, "Why, Lucas, I live with her! Have you forgotten she's a prefect too?"

Confused, Lucas paused for a second and then slapped his forehead with a groan, "Really? Fuck, I forgot, I can't believe I actually forgot." Yann sent him a strange look across the table and Lucas quickly lowered his head to escape it.

"What is it with you lately?" Arthur leaned closer, curious, and said in a sing-song voice with a wide shit-eating grin, "Always distracted. Always busy. Is our Lulu in love?"

 Lucas just rolled his eyes. His friends were being ridiculous, he was completely fine. He glanced at the Ravenclaw table. Unsurprisingly there was no Eliott, and Lucas put down his sandwich. He didn't want to eat anymore. The restless energy inside of him was urging him to do something, anything about it. But what could he do? Eliott either had an invisibility cloak (like the one he'd read in books about) or was a fucking ghost. Seriously, in three weeks Lucas had seen Eliott twice in the weirdest of places, and never at the Great Hall or in the crowded corridors of Hogwarts. Lucas took a deep breath.

Completely fine, he was completely fine.

"Anyway, I talked to Imane. The meeting is on Saturday evening. But she didn't say where are we going to gather," he changed the subject without his usual smoothness and finesse but the boys let him. He noticed the way Arthur and Yann silently exchanged odd looks. They were both such mother hens, Lucas barely contained the urge to roll his eyes again.

A moment later Yann nodded, "Yeah, I had Transfiguration with Emma and she told me we are to wait here, in the Hall. The girls will send someone to pick us up. Apparently, we won't find the place where the actual meeting is going to be by ourselves." Yann sounded a bit hurt by the fact that they needed a guide, but Lucas wasn't really listening.

He was already anxious about Saturday.

 

* * *

 

It was Saturday, and Lucas hadn't seen Eliott since Monday. The memories in his head started to blur together, and even though he knew precisely every single word they said to each other, the whole conversation felt more like a distant dream. He almost physically needed to see Eliott and make sure he wasn't imagining things.

Lucas sighed. Today, he got up earlier and when he entered the common room there were very few of his housemates. All of them were kids, so he couldn't even distract himself with a small-talk. The only other way was homework.

He was halfway through his History of the Magic essay when something heavy landed on his shoulder. The quill in his hand snapped in half, and the ink poured out onto the paper, making the last couple of sentences undistinguishable.

"Fuck. Sorry," a voice above his head apologized and Lucas closed his eyes for a second. Alex's timing was the best, as always.

"It's fine," he said, not even trying to hide his displeasure and quickly muttering a spell to clean the mess Alex Delano made of his essay, and finally turned to face him. "What do you want?"

Alex raised his eyebrows, "Are you only nice after you have breakfast or what?" Lucas glared at him.

"I'm never nice when people try to ruin something I've been working on for hours. What do you want, Alex?" Lucas glanced at the clock. He still had half an hour to finish the essay before he had to go to breakfast.

"Okay. Well, I came to inform you that your tryouts are tomorrow," Alex said, leaning on the table next to him, and Lucas frowned, confused.

"Tryouts? What do you mean?"

Alex looked amused by his reaction. "I thought you wanted to try for a Seeker last year, didn't you? Now you can."

"But we have a Seeker," Lucas protested, still frowning. "Isn't Jackson -- _oh_." As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized that Jackson was still at St. Mungo. With the first game at the end of October, the team had already needed to start training. 

"Finally," Alex drawled and picked up the book Lucas was using for his essay. "We hoped you'd come on the day of the official tryouts but you never showed up. Charles and I rejected four people for you. _Four_ , Lucas! And you never came." He shook his head, visibly disappointed, and put the book back down.

Lucas stared at it, "What? I didn't even know about the tryouts, Merlin. And why would you reject these people? You could've already had a Seeker."

Alex rolled his eyes, sighing heavily as if the whole conversation was giving him a headache. "Wow, you really don't understand? We don't need just a Seeker. We need the best one. And honestly, you may think I'm an asshole but I'm glad Jackson is out of the game. He was taking a place he wasn't good enough for." Lucas was speechless. He knew Jackson's father was sponsoring the team, knew that he bought the newest brooms for everyone and knew that since Jackson became a Seeker Slytherin had won only two games, both versus Hufflepuff. Still, Alex's praise was a lot to take in.

"So. We'll be waiting for you on the pitch at 10:30. And don't be late, Charles doesn't like it," with another clap on his shoulder Alex was gone, leaving Lucas to process everything he'd just heard. 

 

* * *

 

At 16:55 they all stood at the doors of the Great Hall. Yann and Basile were talking about some girl from the fifth year but Lucas couldn't care any less on a good day, and now that he was all kinds of nervous their words just didn't reach his ears. Arthur, next to him, looked thrilled. His excitement, almost palpable, felt like a fifth person in the unusually empty hall. The huge doors to the Great Hall were closed, and Lucas leaned on them for support, closing his eyes to prepare himself. Probably in less than ten minutes, he was going to see Eliott again. The mere fact made him dizzy and his heart stuttered in his chest. He had no time to wallow in thoughts about his reaction, though, because right at that moment he heard the sound of footsteps.

When Lucas opened his eyes and saw Eliott standing next to him, he had to bite his lip to hold back a loud exhale threatening to escape him. For a fleeting second, he wondered whether Eliott's appearance was ever going to stop giving him a heart attack.

Today, Eliott was wearing his uniform, and his dark blue tie, slightly askew and loose, was doing things to Lucas. He stared at the pale skin of Eliott's forearms that were visible thanks to rolled up sleeves of his grey jumper. He had probably been at the library judging by his bag, obviously weighty with books.

Eliott looked at him and smiled, and Lucas' brain switched into a panic mode. This smile was too private, not intended for people you barely knew. He needed to do something because if Arthur would find out that he met Eliott and kept quiet about it, Lucas was dead. So, so dead. Arthur would never let him live that down.

Before anyone was able to say anything Lucas extended his hand and stretched his lips in a polite smile of his own, silently begging Eliott to play along with only his eyes, "Hi. You must be Eliott. I'm Lucas, nice to meet you." Eliott glanced at his hand and then at his friends, raising one questioning eyebrow, but returned the handshake. He was watching Lucas closely, eyes slightly narrowed as if he was trying to put together what was going on.

In the bright light of the hall, Lucas could finally see his eyes clearly. They were much more intense than he imagined, the colour somewhere between grey and blue and green. It was too much for his heart to take, apparently, because for a moment it skipped a beat and then began to pound. Feeling Eliott's strong hand in his also wasn't helping. The skin on skin sensation was overwhelming.

"Nice to meet you too, Lucas," said Eliott in a slightly raspy voice and Lucas swallowed hard. The way Eliott pronounced his name made him lower his gaze at his lips for a moment, and as soon as his mind registered his actions Lucas quickly dropped Eliott's hand and took a step back. Being so close to him wasn't good for his sanity. 

"Hi! It's so cool to finally meet you!" Arthur's loud voice rang right next to Lucas' ear and he flinched, unwillingly breaking eye contact between him and Eliott. The boys surrounded them and Lucas caught a curious look Yann sent his way.

_Fuck._

“Why?” Eliott asked, clenching the strap of his bag, “I’m not a celebrity.” Lucas tried to pretend he was not paying attention but quickly gave up, squinting at Arthur and waiting for his reply.

Arthur shrugged offhandedly, “Yeah, you’re a mysterious and handsome new student in a school full of people who are bored out of their minds with each other. I guess you're our local Harry Potter, at least amongst the girls." He smirked and Eliott, highly amused, shook his head with a laugh.

"Yeah, sure, mysterious and handsome, right," he turned to Yann and Basile obviously to change the topic and asked, "And you, guys?"

They both introduced themselves and Eliott, after checking the time with a wave of his wand, told them to follow him.

The girls were waiting for them, after all.

 

* * *

 

They stopped in front of an old and unexpectedly ugly door. Arthur, Yann and Basile stared at it, confused and hesitating, and Lucas decided to take a look around the corridor. Something about it seemed familiar, and when he noticed a magical window further down the candlelit passage it all fell into place.

"Been here before?" asked Eliott in a low voice over his shoulder, and Lucas shivered. He was standing too close, again. Not that he actually minded though.

"Maybe. I remember a strange guy once almost knocked me down somewhere around here," he said, trying to suppress a smile and turning to face Eliott. He was suddenly and oddly determined, and Lucas was sure he didn't even hear his response.

"Why didn't you tell them you know me?" Eliott nodded at his friends who were still discussing the damned door. Lucas sighed, weighing his options under Eliott's tense gaze.

"Why do you think? Look at them! Arthur wouldn't stop interrogating me until he found out your favourite colour and favourite meal or whatever," he rolled his eyes and when Eliott opened his mouth to answer, Lucas added, turning away so he could hide his mischievous smirk, "Besides, there isn't much to tell. I don't really know you, after all." It was a truth, of course, but he still wanted to tease Eliott who seemed to take it a little too seriously.

"Oh, really?" Eliott raised his eyebrows at that and slowly smiled. "Well, I think we can fix that."

Lucas bit his lip, trying not to grin too widely. This guy was unbelievable. Their gazes met, and there was a glint in Eliott's darkened eyes that almost made him suggest to ditch everyone -- the guys, the girls, -- and go elsewhere. Somewhere deep inside, he knew: whatever it was between them, it was inevitable

But before he could answer the door swung open and Alexia showed up on the threshold, asking cheerfully, "Are you coming, or what?"

* * *

 

The first thing he noticed was a smell.

"Merlin!" Basile exclaimed, covering his nose with his hand, and looked around frantically. "Did somebody die here?"

It was an extremely unpleasant smell, the kind that usually filled dusty and dirty places, abandoned by people but inhabited with mouses or rats. Lucas winced. The girls were really thoughtful when they picked this place for a meeting. He exchanged grim looks with Yann, who sighed in response but was clearly willing to stay. Eliott stepped closer to the girls who surrounded a giant chalkboard and dropped his bag aside, watching them with slight amusement. Well, Lucas could understand him: Daphne's enthusiasm could be probably seen from the outer space. She was engrossed in writing Halloween 2019 in big, bright and colourful letters with her wand. Lucas shook his head when Basile stopped next to him and stared at Daphne in admiration close to awe, and Arthur also dropped his bag next to Eliott's.

Lucas sighed. He had no choice but to stay now.

In the middle of the room, which was apparently a Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom a long time ago, stood two lime-green and nice-looking sofas and two old and scratched leather chairs of unrecognisable colour. In the centre of this strange composition stood a crooked coffee table made of weirdly murky glass. Lucas frowned.

"What is it?" he asked the girls, doubting their sanity and designer choices. The Great Hall would look horrible if they were going to decorate it, and not in the way Halloween required it to.

"Well, we needed something to sit on so I transfigurated some furniture. Try it, it's very cosy, " Manon said poking at the back of the couch and smiling widely. They were all so happy with this Halloween decoration, Lucas mused with amazement.

Daphne let out a strange noise and Basile gulped loudly next to him. Lucas stared at the farthest wall regretting every life choice he made that led him to this room full of weird people. Eliott, taking Manon's invitation, sank into the nearest chair and the boys soon followed suit. Imane, who was standing still while other girls were arguing either rainbow-coloured bats were appropriate or not, gave Eliott a little reassuring smile. His whole face lit up in response.

Okay, there was definitely a story there and Lucas was intrigued.

He didn't have a lot of time to think it over because Daphne and Alexia collapsed on the couch next to him and Manon settled down next to Eliott, right in front of Lucas, clapping her hands once to get everyone's attention. As soon as she got it, she said, unusually cheerful, "Well, let's start guys!"

They got to work, discussing different ways of enchanting pumpkins, and Lucas instantly tuned them out. Honestly, a Magic Chess Club was more exciting, and he dropped it in his first year because he was bored to death. Judging by unimpressed Imane, she was also not a fan of anything they were suggesting, and she rolled her eyes once Basile decided to open his mouth. Lucas tried not to smile but failed and it turned out to be a mistake.

"What, Lucas? Why are you smiling? Do you have a better idea?" Daphne suddenly snapped at him and Lucas squinted. It was not his fault that everyone banned her crazy ideas. He shrugged, not even trying to feign any interest in the topic of decorations and sank deeper into the couch. Daphne was not okay with it, but Lucas had already stopped paying attention to her annoyed voice.

He was too preoccupied with studying Eliott.

Lucas was watching him constantly on their way to this room but still, it wasn't enough. Stealing glances was not enough, even just being in the same room wasn't enough anymore. Now that he knew what Eliott's eyes were like up close, every extra inch of space between them was a painful poke in the ribs. Lucas couldn't even pretend he wasn't looking at Eliott, surely curious Yann or perceptive Arthur would sooner or later notice the way he was drawn to this boy. He needed to get a grip, but frankly, he couldn't care any less at the moment because Eliott's eyes met his and everything else ceased to matter.

 

* * *

 

Lucas wasn't sure how much time had passed, but the meeting suddenly ended and everyone started to gather their things to go to the dinner. One moment the room was filled with their laughter and the next the girls were already gone to the Great Hall and his friends were standing in the doorway, waiting for Lucas to join them. Eliott stood next to the chalkboard, thoughtfully studying the best suggestions that Daphne decided to write down, and glanced at them only to say goodbye and give them all a warm parting smile.

That wouldn't do.

Helpless, he looked at his friends, and unexpectedly Yann narrowed his eyes and said, "We have to go, our places will be taken. Catch up, Lucas." Arthur stared at him in bewilderment, but he pushed both Basile and him through the doorway before disappearing in the shadows of the corridor and closing the door behind them. Lucas barely managed to give him a simultaneously grateful and puzzled look.

He took a deep breath and turned to Eliott who was already watching him with a tiny smile. The realisation that they were alone made his heart pump in his chest. They were just staring at each other until Eliott asked, "Why didn't you go to the Great Hall? You'll miss dinner."

Lucas tried to hold back a laugh but couldn't, "I can't believe you, of all people, said this. Do you go there, like, ever?" Eliott averted his eyes and shrugged, and it took him a long time to think about his answer. But Lucas waited patiently.

Eliott shrugged again and said, "I don't know. There's always a lot of people and, you know, it's hard to be there when you don't really have any friends." Lucas' breath hitched with a sudden understanding that it must've been really hard to change schools like this when everyone around you had already known each other for six years. He watched Eliott who frowned, probably noticing the sudden change of Lucas' mood, but Lucas beat him before he could say anything and blurted out, "You can sit with us. If you want, I mean."

Eliott shook his head in amazement and grinned, "Sure, it'll be a pleasure." The way his voice lowered, the way his eyes sparkled made Lucas shiver.

He cleared his throat and said in a light tone, "Arthur is going to lose his shit, so the pleasure is all mine." Eliott laughed but the way he looked him up and down told Lucas that his slightly hoarse voice didn't go unnoticed. Fuck, the tension between them thickened the air and it was getting harder and harder to breathe. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him and he scowled.

"Wait," he started, and Eliott raised his eyebrows at his abrupt change of tone. "If you don't go to the Great Hall, where do you eat?"

Eliott's face broke into a smile so boyish it made Lucas remember that he was only one year older than him. In a blink of an eye, Eliott picked up his bag and walked past him to the door, opening it and staring at Lucas expectantly. When he just stared back, Eliott asked, "Are you coming?" In the next moment, he stepped over the threshold and started to walk, and Lucas had to catch up with him which wasn't that easy considering their significant height difference.

"Where are we going?" he asked, closing the distance between them and Eliott smirked at him over his shoulder.

"You'll see."

 

* * *

 

They stood in the brightly lit corridor that led to the kitchen, Lucas knew that much. There were plenty of paintings on the walls, but none of them was a portrait, and from every single one he laid his eyes upon a different but always deliciously looking food stared back at him. However, Eliott purposefully led him to the one that showed a simple bowl of fruits and stopped in front of it with a mysterious grin. Lucas narrowed his eyes doubtfully examining the painting and said, "Well? What's next?"

"Next, we tickle it," answered Eliott, and Lucas snorted. Yeah, tickle a portrait? That was a bit extra even for Hogwarts. Eliott, however, reached out and literally tickled a pear painted in a not really realistic way. The pear giggled (Lucas flinched at the loud sound though he would never admit it) and turned into a large green door handle. Lucas stared at it in wonder and shot a glance at Eliott only to find him already looking back with a warm smile on his face. Making a grand gesture with his arm but never tearing his gaze away, Eliott swung the door wide open.

The kitchen met them with a loud clattering of pans and pots and hundreds of house-elves running about. The enormous space of the kitchen astonished Lucas and he looked around, trying to take everything in: a huge fireplace at the other end of the room, five tables that were filled with all kinds of food, an ocean of busy house-elves who simply ignored their presence. His eyes found Eliott, again. Lucas was the happiest boy on Earth at that moment.

What had followed turned out to be the best time he'd ever had in his life. Eliott showed him to a hidden place he usually took whenever he wanted to eat, and a house-elf swiftly brought them their meals. They laughed a lot, leaning closer with every joke, every funny story, drunk on the magic that filled this place and their closeness. It was way past the dinner time when they had decided to leave.

They climbed the stairs and paused in a hall where they had to part ways. Lucas felt a warmth spreading up inside him, and the cause of it was a boy standing before him, playing with a strap of his bag until he finally decisively looked at Lucas again and said with an air of finality, "I'll walk you to the dorms."

Lucas stared at him. He couldn't not to. His smile was probably so stupid and transparent, but he didn't care. Eliott seemed to know anyway, so why bother hiding. Eliott took a step back and nodded in the direction of dungeons with a smile of his own, "Are you coming?"

"Sure. Let's go."

 

* * *

 

They were talking about nothing and everything at once, and Lucas could not remember which words led to Eliott saying, "Oh God, I forgot you're so little!"

Lucas rolled his eyes in response, "I'm not. I'm only one year younger than you, asshole." Eliott chuckled and shook his head.

"You're sixteen, right?" he asked, and Lucas nodded, squinting at him with suspicion. "Well, that makes you two years younger than me, actually."

Lucas raised his eyebrows, looking him up and down, but Eliott didn't seem to be lying. He stared at Lucas intently, challenging, daring him to ask.

Lucas licked his lips, hesitating. It was an opportunity to finally find out something about Eliott, but the evening was too nice and precious to break the spell with any even remotely serious conversation. So he let the moment pass and shook his head, looking away from Eliott and continuing their walk to the Slytherin dorms in silence. It was a bit tense, but soon they were already near the door leading to the common room. Lucas sighed. He didn't want this to end.

"Well, here it is. The famous secret entrance to the Slytherin common room. Now that you've seen it I have to kill you," he said with a tiny smile, trying to lighten the mood with a lame joke to make Eliott laugh. He did, and Lucas bit his lip to keep himself from doing silly and dangerous things like kissing him right here and right now. Oblivious to his turn of thoughts, Eliott looked at him with an amusement still glinting in his eyes.

"So this is where we say goodnight, then?" he asked, clearly teasing.

Lucas wanted to kiss him. He could admit it here, standing in the dimly lit corridor of the dungeons. There was no point in hiding from the truth.

And the truth was that he liked Eliott. The thrill that confession evoked was something new and exciting. His fingers twitched at the thought of touching Eliott, and he took a tiny step closer. There was too much space between them.

Eliott's eyes darkened. Lucas could see it, he could almost feel it, the heavy weight of these piercing eyes. He thought he caught Eliott glancing at his lips, but this could be a somewhat cruel joke of his imagination. The air seemed charged with strange energy he'd never felt before, and it made him both scared and flustered.

They stood and regarded each other for some time until Eliott spoke.

"Goodnight, Lucas," he said in a low voice that resonated in Lucas' chest, clenched his heart and went straight to his groin. That was a foul play, he wanted to complain. But he just rasped out, "Goodnight," and turned on his heels to murmur the password. Before the door closed behind him, he allowed himself to steal one more look at Eliott, still standing in the middle of the passageway.

A second later, Lucas' face broke into a wide grin he couldn't contain. Didn't want to contain anymore.

Yeah, he surely was the happiest boy on Earth.


End file.
